from Marik Herrmann of Newsday,

Little did those fellow Long Island Rail Road riders realize early Monday that the quiet, bespectacled fellow in their midst, wearing jacket and tie, is one of the best in the world at what he does. No one recognized Barry Trotz, Stanley Cup-winning coach, which was fine with him. He was just happy that someone assured him he was going in the right direction.

“I was a little bit nervous this morning. I didn’t want to end up in New Jersey,” Trotz said after making his first commute by rail as Islanders coach. “I had to double-check on everything. I had to ask some people: ‘This train is going to Barclays, correct?’ and ‘This is the stop, correct?’ ”

Once he gets to a rink, Trotz truly knows where he is going, probably as well as anyone behind any bench. There is no guarantee he can instantly turn the Islanders into something they are not, but he sure is going to make them better than they would have been if he were not here.

Put it this way: If the Islanders decide they want to really tank it this season and try for the top overall draft pick, they definitely have the wrong coach. By any other measure, though, Trotz is the guy.

“He’s very detailed and structured but he’s got a human element to him. He’s easy to talk to, he jokes with the players. He’ll tell jokes in meetings,” said Matt Martin, who had the third goal in a surprisingly resounding 4-0 win over the Sharks, considered one of the NHL’s best teams, on Monday afternoon. “He’s relaxed but he’s detailed at the same time. He doesn’t yell on the bench. Even in Carolina when we were getting outshot by double, he was like, ‘Don’t worry about the shot clock. Don’t think about it, don’t focus on it.’ As long as we’re working, he doesn’t have a problem. At the same time, he’ll let you hear it if you’re not going. It's kind of the best of both worlds.”

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